Merry Christmas!

The Christmas holidays have started for me. It means getting out of bed at half past seven, instead of a quarter to six, having extra time for my husband and daughters, do some crocheting & sewing and lots of baking and cooking. 

I started baking Berry meringue slices, which are absolutely delicious and fun to make. What you need is:

* 400 g flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 6 eggs
* 150 g + 200 g sugar
* 1 little bag of vanilla sugar
* 150 g of cold butter
* 500 g mixed berries (red berries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) (fresh or frozen)
* 200 g grounded almonds or almond powder
* icing sugar, for dusting

Mix the flower and the baking powder. Divide the eggs and keep the egg whites in the fridge. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Add 150 g sugar, vanilla sugar, 150g of cold butter in little parts and 2 teaspoons of cold water. With your hand knead the dough in the bowl until it just comes together into a ball, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

Clean the berries and drain them. Frozen berries should be defrosted and drained as well before you use them. Preheat the oven (electric 175 degrees Celsius, gas mark 2, hot air 150 degrees celcius). Roll out the dough on a baking tray (30 x 45 cm) and bake for about 15 minutes. Leave the oven on afterwards.

Get the egg whites from the fridge and start whisking. Slowly add 200 gr of sugar. Whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks, when the whisk is lifted. Carefully fold the 200 gr ground almonds and mixed berries into the egg whites. Spread the mixture over the dough and put back into the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to stand until it's cold. Dust with icing sugar and cut into slices.

The merinque slices are a hit in my family. I made some this afternoon and half of it is already gone :-). The floral teacups and gold floral tea plates are recent thrift store finds. Aren't they just beautiful?!

This will be my last post before Christmas. I will be taking a short break, to get everything ready at home. I haven't decided on my Christmas dinner yet and I still need to finish my doily table runner. Sorry I haven't been able to pop over to your blogs as often as I used to, but a lot is happening in my life at the moment. I hope the new year will be a good one.

I wish you and your family all the best for a wonderful Christmas! Have fun!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

LOVE,

Madelief x